1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved data processing system and, in particular, to a method and apparatus for facsimile processing. Still more particularly, the present invention provides a method and apparatus for automated processing of facsimile documents.
2. Description of Related Art
The amount of digital communication has grown exponentially along with the growth of the Internet. While most Internet-based personal communication is in the form of electronic mail, or e-mail, new forms of digital communication continue to be developed. In addition, some types of communication that existed before the commercial use of the Internet have evolved into Web-based services. For example, electronic bulletin boards that once existed as stand-alone systems can now be found in Web-based newsgroups, and facsimiles can now be sent over the Internet in conjunction with or in place of dedicated telephone circuits. Other relatively new forms of communication, such as instant messaging and chat services, have also become quite common.
Each of these types of digital communication have their own characteristics that make one form of communication more desirable than another form of communication in a given circumstance. For example, newsgroups have the advantage of opening a discussion to a wide audience, possibly all Internet users. While an open newsgroup may draw a wider range of information in its posted responses, newsgroups have the disadvantage of not being private and of not having an implied time response period. In contrast, e-mail is relatively secure between two or more parties, and an implied etiquette allows one to assume that an e-mail message will be answered by a receiver of an e-mail message within a relatively short time period.
Facsimile documents, even when partially routed across the Internet, are relatively secure to the parties or organizations at the sending and receiving locations that are participating in a given communication session. Facsimile documents are also subject to an implied etiquette that allows one to assume that a facsimile document will be given attention by a receiving party within a relatively short time period.
While having similarities in an implied response period and an assumption of privacy, e-mail communication and facsimile communication vary in one""s assumptions about the format or manner in which the receiving party should receive the transmitted information. One can send an e-mail message with attached files, but one cannot necessarily assume that the receiving party will print a hardcopy of an attached file or the e-mail message. In fact, a sending party may transmit a document as a softcopy e-mail attachment so that the receiving party can manipulate the softcopy of the document. In contrast, a fax is expected to be available in hardcopy format at its destination immediately, allowing a sending party to assume that the receiving party can immediately view a sheet of paper with an electronically reproduced image of the original document.
E-mail messages and facsimile documents are also subject to different types of receipt or post-receipt processing, i.e. processing while being received or after being received, and a sending party may have assumptions about the receipt or post-receipt processing to be applied to e-mail messages and facsimile messages. For example, the softcopy nature of an e-mail message allows a sender to assume that electronic copies of an e-mail message might be forwarded to parties other than the original receiver. In fact, most e-mail applications provide forwarding features, and, assuming that the e-mail headers are not stripped off the e-mail message during its routing, headers on an e-mail message can later be examined to determine the transmission route of a particular copy of an e-mail message.
Assuming that the receiving party has a simple facsimile machine, a facsimile document is typically printed as it is received. However, facsimile applications and systems have been developed that provide more sophisticated options for electronic receipt or post-receipt processing of facsimile documents. As a result, a sender increasingly cannot assume that a successful receipt of a facsimile transmission means that the document is immediately available in hardcopy format at its destination. In addition, by employing these additional facsimile features and services, a receiving party can create administrative burdens.
For example, facsimile documents can be stored as electronic softcopies upon receipt and/or forwarded to other facsimile machines or facsimile services either immediately or upon a programmed schedule. If a receiving party uses such features, then the receiving party must constantly be aware of the receipt or post-receipt processing options that have been invoked so that important faxes are not lost or misplaced. When multiple people have access to a facsimile machine, the potential for inappropriate receipt or post-receipt processing of a facsimile document is greatly increased.
With the increased ability to lose or misplace important facsimile documents, most organizations need automated assistance in handling their received facsimile documents when employing advanced facsimile receipt or post-receipt processing features. Most facsimile machines optionally add a line of text at the top of each image page to provide information about its origination, such as originating phone number, time, date, number of pages, and sending party. However, facsimile documents lack the electronic tracking features of e-mail messages, and although e-mail messages have certain advantages over facsimile documents, businesses will not soon become entirely paperless enterprises. People will continue to use facsimile transmissions, but with more complex facsimile features and services, there is a need for automated assistance with these advanced features.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide a method and system for automated administrative assistance associated with receipt or post-receipt processing of received facsimile documents. It would be particularly advantageous to provide a methodology for tracking and reporting the processing of received facsimile documents.
The present invention is a method, a system, an apparatus, or a computer program product for automatically processing a facsimile document at a receiving device. The receiving device stores a set of facsimile processing rules for automatically processing facsimile documents. The receiving device receives and stores a facsimile document and associated caller ID data from an originating device during a facsimile transmission. The receiving device then compares an originating phone number in the caller ID data against phone numbers in the set of facsimile processing rules. Each facsimile processing rule comprises one or more phone numbers and facsimile processing rule parameter data. In response to matching the originating phone number with a phone number in a facsimile processing rule, a modified facsimile document is then generated such that the modified facsimile document includes information associated with facsimile processing rule parameter data in the matching facsimile processing rule. The receiving device may then send the modified facsimile document via a facsimile transmission to a destination device at a phone number specified in the facsimile processing rule parameter data. The facsimile document can be modified by placing, in an identified empty region within the facsimile document, the information associated with facsimile processing rule parameter data in the matching facsimile processing rule.